Caixin
Caixin Global – Latest China News & Headlines

Home >

ABOUT US

CX Tech is Caixin Global's real-time tech news portal, featuring 24-hour news, short-form analysis, and roundups from business and tech media in China.

TRENDING
Unitree to Debut at 61 Billion Yuan Valuation in Closely Watched Shanghai IPO
U.S. Appeals Court Orders Review of Pentagon’s DJI Designation
Alibaba to Sell Gaming Unit as It Sharpens AI Focus
LATEST
U.S. Appeals Court Orders Review of Pentagon’s DJI Designation
Unitree to Debut at 61 Billion Yuan Valuation in Closely Watched Shanghai IPO
Alibaba to Sell Gaming Unit as It Sharpens AI Focus
China’s DJI and Arashi Vision Escalate Battle for 360-Camera Market
Didi Swings to Quarterly Profit, but Overseas Push Weighs on First-Half Results
Z.AI Pushes AI Model With Coding Edge to Rival Anthropic, Open AI
DeepSeek Launches V4-Pro and Raises API Prices by as Much as 1,100%
Tencent Shares Fall as AI Spending Squeezes Profit
Honor’s New Smartphone Doubles as a Robotic Camera Operator
YMTC Overtakes Kioxia by Shipments to Rank No. 3 in Global NAND Market
ModelBest Begins Pre-IPO Tutoring as On-Device AI Competition Heats Up
U.S. Proposes Ban on Domestic Drone Maker Over Alleged DJI Ties
Manus Cuts Ties With Meta as Tencent Emerges as Top Backer
Cautious Regulators Steer China’s Flying Vehicle Industry to Prioritize Cargo Over Commuters
Alibaba Opens Qwen Platform to Outside Developers in Push to Build AI-Agent Ecosystem
Moore Threads Plans Hong Kong Listing to Fuel AI Chip Push
Beyond the Backflips: Unitree Robotics Faces High Expectations Ahead of Shanghai Debut
ByteDance Accepts AI Gap, Sticks With In-House Models
MiniMax Shares Surge After Joining Hong Kong Stock Connect
Chinese Robotics Startup PokeBot Raises Hundreds of Millions of Dollars
Puma Feels Trade Heat as Sportswear Makers Retreat From China

By Bloomberg / Aug 01, 2019 06:39 AM / Business & Tech

Photo: Bloomberg

Photo: Bloomberg

Germany’s Puma SE is feeling the heat from the U.S.-China trade war even before President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs hit the sportswear sector.

In a bid to insulate itself, Puma is accelerating a shift of footwear and apparel production out of China and into countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia. As other manufacturers do the same, the new supply hubs are getting more crowded. That’s driving up costs for everything from factories to shoe components to packaging, Puma Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Gulden said.

“I can’t quantify what that is, because I don’t think there’s a number for it, but it’s just a fact,” Gulden said Wednesday on a call with reporters after the release of quarterly results.

Trump has threatened tariffs as high as 25% on footwear, and the stampede of shoe and apparel production out of China has forced Puma to lock in capacity at facilities in hubs like Vietnam earlier than usual, Gulden said. As a result, the Herzogenaurach, Germany-based company is carrying about 7% more inventory than it normally would.

In May, Puma signed an open letter to Trump — along with Nike Inc., Adidas AG and other footwear companies — saying that tariffs on shoes made in China would be “catastrophic for our consumers, our companies and the American economy as a whole.”

Representatives of Adidas and Nike didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The price impact will probably vary regionally, Gulden said. Chinese consumers are shielded, because the factories that once churned out products for the world increasingly serve domestic customers’ needs. But U.S. consumers could see the tariff costs in clothing prices.

“You can’t move all production out of China, and therefore there will be a price increase in the market that will be visible for the consumer,” Gulden said.


Share this article
Open WeChat and scan the QR code